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Chapter 26 Part 6: Christmas
As soon as I welcomed Akina into my home, I sent a message to Yuki informing her Rikka wouldn’t be able to come due to a cold. She replied quickly, saying she was very sad she wouldn’t be able to participate. Plus, she added she was on her way.
Standing next to me in my room, Akina looked around at all the Christmas decorations with a starstruck sigh.
“Akina, Yuki will be here soon. Let’s hang around for a bit.”
“Mhm,” she didn’t turn to look at me, instead gazing around as she’s been doing for the past few minutes.
“So, how do you like the decorations?” I pointed out.
“They’re amazing. I can tell you guys put a lot of effort into it, and I really appreciate it.”
“Good to hear,” I felt warm as a smile crept up my face. “Yuki helped me with the decorations since I don’t really have an eye for it.”
“Oh, wow! This collab of tours turned out amazing. I’d like to learn from you two,” Akina murmured while gazing at the beautifully decorated Christmas tree ornaments. Then, she took off her duffle coat and scarf, revealing her cardigan-clad figure. Less burdened, she gently sat down in front of the stove and warmed her hands over it.
“You were feeling cold? Want some tea? Oh, I reckon you’d prefer some black tea with plenty of sugar and milk, yeah?”
“Thank you. Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Gotcha. Black tea with sugar and milk coming right up.”
“Also, if it’s possible, could you put the cake you bought in the fridge?”
“Of course. I can’t let the cake you brought go to waste.”
“Yeah, thank you.”
I received the white box containing the cake from Akina and headed to the kitchen. After making some space in the refrigerator, I took out some tea bags from the shelf and started warming up the milk and water. Following the instructions I found on my smartphone on how to make milk tea, I added plenty of syrup at the end.
Returning to the room with the finished milk tea in hand, I saw Akina still sitting in front of the stove, warming herself up.
“Here, milk tea with plenty of syrup,” I handed the cup to her.
“Thank you. I’ll have it right away.”
“Ah, we also have cookies. They’re on the table.”
“Oh, you’re so thoughtful. Still, I’m worried I might get too full before the party even starts.”
“Then just have one, how about that?” I raised my hand and pressed my fingers into a ‘just a bit’ sign.
“Sounds good. Yeah, I’ll have one.”
Having decided to indulge, Akina reached for the cookies on the table. As she took a bite, the cookies made a crisp and pleasant sound, and she slowly sipped her milk tea. She had a happy and contented expression. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but notice a bag placed in the corner of the room.
“Hey, Akina. What’s in the bag? The snacks, drinks, and cake were in paper bags.”
“Oh, that? It’s something Rikka prepared for the surprise, but since the main person is absent, I’m not sure what to do with it.”
“A surprise? Oh, yeah, she did mention something like that.”
“Y-Yeah
 Maybe I’ll reveal it if I feel like it,” she laughed off my question, trying to brush it off. Still, she had mentioned a surprise, so I’m sure there’s something inside that befits the word surprising. I was curious, sure, but I didn’t want to push for the surprise. I could only hope that Akina would feel like revealing it.
After that, we spent some time talking leisurely until Yuki returned. I made coffee and sat next to Akina, bantering as lightly as we always have. While we were passing the time like that, the chime of a doorbell signaled someone’s arrival from the direction of the entrance.
“Seems like she’s here. I’ll be right back.”
“Mhm, I’ll be waiting.”
I got up from my seat to greet Yuki. As I expected, she was at the entrance while in the process of taking off her boots, placing her tote bag on her shoulder. She wore a warm, brightly colored coat different than the one from yesterday, a white blouse with a cute ribbon tied around the neck, and a black mini skirt. Her legs were exposed and her pallid thighs were lush.
Noticing my presence there, she lifted her head and offered a gentle smile, “I’m back, Haru-kun. Sorry, I’m late.”
“Welcome back. It must have been freezing out there. Would you like a drink to warm you up?”
“Thank you. In that case, could I have hot milk?”
“Of course. Please go ahead to the room, Akina is waiting.”
“Gotcha. I’ll go upstairs then.”
Watching her go up the stairs, I headed back to the kitchen to make hot milk. Yuki also liked sweet things, so I added a little syrup to the milk, knowing she’d appreciate the subtle change.
I poured milk into a pot, heated it, and stirred in the syrup once it reached a warm temperature without letting it boil. After transferring the sweet goodness to a mug, it was ready. I placed the finished drink on a tray and went upstairs. Upon opening the door, I saw Yuki was already sitting down next to Akina.
“Here, one hot milk.”
“Thanks, Haru-kun.”
Yuki held the warm mug in her cold hands and brought it to her lips.
“It’s warm and delicious. I can taste a hint of sweetness.”
“I added just a little syrup. I remembered that you like it that way, Yuki.”
“Yes! I’m happy you remembered.”
With a smile, Yuki took a sip, clearly pleased. After seeing her like that, I turned to Akina, who sat next to me and brought up something that’s been on my mind. “Since Rikka won’t be coming, unfortunately, should we start the party?”
“She had a cold, right? I hope she recovers soon
”
“It’s just a slight fever, so she’ll be fine. Yeah, let’s start the party.”
“Yup! Let’s have Rikka’s share of the fun for her!”
And so, on December 25th, our Christmas party began. In my decorated room, we enjoyed delicious snacks and drinks and played Christmas songs on our phones. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the festivities and the company of each other.